NFL meetings day 1: Moss' interview with Oakland was OK'd

Nov. 6, 2013

PALM BEACH, Fla. — When new Oakland general manager Reggie McKenzie interviewed Packers assistant head coach/linebackers coach Winston Moss for the Raiders head coaching job the day before the Packers-Giants divisional playoff game, it appeared to break the NFL’s tampering rules.
But McKenzie, the former Packers’ director of pro personnel, said today at the NFL meetings that he did so with the full permission of Packers coach Mike McCarthy.
“That’s the time that coach Mike gave me,” McKenzie said. “He has to (OK) it.”
The league’s anti-tampering policy stats that “for clubs that have byes in the Wild Card weekend, interviews of its coaches must be conducted prior to the conclusion of Wild Card games.” By that rule, the interview shouldn't have taken place on Jan. 14 but rather by the end of the previous weekend. However, McCarthy’s decision to grant permission for the interview seemingly supersedes the rule.
Also, McKenzie said today that Moss was the only member of the Packers’ coaching staff he interviewed for the Raiders’ head coaching job, although he said he did conduct a phone interview with cornerbacks coach Joe Whitt but “that was more as a defensive coordinator,” said McKenzie, who ended up going outside the Packers when he hired Denver Broncos defensive coordinator Dennis Allen. McKenzie said he did not interview Packers defensive coordinator Dom Capers.
McKenzie wouldn’t say whether he might try to hire anyone in the Packers’ personnel department. Those moves usually happen after the draft.
McKenzie said his first year as a general manager has been a challenge, but he has enjoyed molding an organization.
“It’s been different,” McKenzie said. “Believe it or not, it’s different than Green Bay. What’s the quote, ‘I ain’t in Kansas anymore.’ Seriously, it’s been really good. When I interviewed with (owner) Mark Davis and the decision was made, he’s going to let me do it my way. He wants me to do it my way. So I’m taking that to the fullest.”